Asparagus and Gruyere Souffle

I have missed a few month's worth of challenges but I could not resist attempting a souffle! Souffle conjures up all these images of tip-toeing around your oven for fear of collapsing the oh-so-delicate creature within; just when you think you've created a perfect dish, it deflates when removed from the oven. I figured I must find out for myself if the souffle was really as daunting as it seemed.
With Spring comes the season of my favorite vegetable, asparagus, so I immediately searched for a recipe based on this ingredient. I stumbled on this one from the Cooking Light site:
Asparagus and Gruyere Souffle-

• YIELD: 6 servings

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 3/4 pound asparagus
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 6 large egg whites
• Dash of cream of tartar

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Coat a 2-quart soufflé dish with cooking spray; sprinkle breadcrumbs over bottom and sides of dish.
• Cook asparagus in boiling water 4 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water. Cut a 1-inch tip from each asparagus spear; finely chop stalks.
• Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place the flour, salt, ground nutmeg, dry mustard, and black pepper in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until thick.
• Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot milk mixture into egg yolk, stirring constantly with a whisk, and add to remaining hot milk mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 30 seconds, and remove from heat. Stir in asparagus tips and chopped asparagus with the cheese. Cool slightly.
• Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into asparagus mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon into prepared soufflé dish. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until puffed, golden, and set. Serve immediately.

It actually puffed, turned golden brown and tasted delicious! I think I will try a sweet one at some point, too. Perhaps a dark chocolate souffle?


Posted by -colleen